Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/821

MONROE. 737 MONROE DOCTRINE. Temaimlcr of tlioir iivo= and was destined to have a decisive iiitlueiice upon the career of Monroe. In 17S2, at the age of twenty-four, lie was elected to a seat in the Legislature of 'irginia, and hecame a member of the Virginia Executive Council. His next legislative senicc was in the Congress of the Confederation, of which he was an inlluential member for three successive terms from 1783 to 1780. He took a prominent part in the delibera- tions upon the vital questions of the jieriod: the trade relations of the States, the navigalion of the ilississippi, and the government of the west- em territory. To inform himself of conditions in the West, he twice crossed the Alleglianies, and the information which he acquired had a marked intluence upon his course in Congress. Upon his retiremeut from Congress in 178U he ■was again chosen to a scat in the Legislature, and in 17SS became a member of the State con- vention called to ratify the Federal Constitution. In this body he supported Patrick Henry in his futile opposition to the Constitution, making several lengthy arguments against ratitication. In 1790 he was elected to a seat in the United States Senate, whei'e he served until 1704. In the Sen- ate he acted with the Anti-Federalists, opposing vigorously the Administration of Washington. He was nevertheless, in 17U4. appointed Minister to Prance as the successor of (iouvcrneur Morris, the probable explanation of the appointment being his friendly attitude toward France and the desire of the President to offset the appointment of Jay, a stanch Fedei-alist, as Minister to Eng- land. He arrived in France just after the fall of Hobespierre, and was received by the Convention, August 15, 1794. In an address to the Conven- tion he used expressions which, in view of the strained relations between the United States and France, did not meet with the approval of the Administration, and in other respects his course did not entirely commend itself to the Govern- ment. He was accordingly recalled in 1706, and Charles C. Pinckney was appointed as his suc- cessor. Upon his return the reasons and pro- priety of his recall became the subject of a spirited controversy and caused party feeling to Tini high. For a time Monroe retired to private life, from which he was called to assume the Governorship of Virginia in 1709, a position which he held until 1802. The accession of Jef- ferson to the Presidency in 1801 insured Monroe's return to national politics, and in the following year he wa.s again sent to France as an additional plenipotentiary to aid Robert R. Livingston in the negotiations already begun for the purchase of New Orleans and a district at the mouth of the Mississippi, and at the same time was in- structed to negotiate with Spain for the purchase of the Floridas. After the conclusion of the treaty by which France sold Louisiana to the United States (180.3) Monroe was sent as Min- ister to England and subsequently to Spain. A treaty was finally concluded with England, but, not being satisfactory to the l'rcsi<lent on the question of impressment and indemnity, it was never laid before the Senate. The negotiations with Spain for the cession of the Floridas were likewise unsuccessful. In 1807 ^fonrne retirned to the United States, and his course was again the subject of controversy, .gain he served in the Virginia Assembly, and in 1811 was chosen a second time Governor of Vii'ginia, but held the office only a short time being called to the Cabi- net of President -Madison as Secretary of State in the same year. He held this ollico luilil his eleva- tion to the Presidency in 1817, and for a time in 1814 and 1815 also acted as Secretary of War. As head of the War Department he took pre- cautions for the defense of Washington against an attack from the liritish forces, and won popu- larity by the igorous measures which hv adopt- ed in tlic prosecnliou of military operations. In the j-car 181ti, wliile in his tifty-ninth year, he was elected President of the United States, hav- ing received 18.3 electoral votes, against 34 cast for the Federalist candidate. Hiifus King. Four years later he was reelected, receiving every vote in the electoral college except one. This was due to the passing of the Federalist Party, or, more correctly, to the breaking down of party lines, so that there were no longer Federalists or Republicans. The principal subjects which oc- cupied the attention of the Government during the eight years of Monroe's Administration were the defense of the Atlantic seaboard, the en- couragement of internal improvements, the Sem- inole War, the acquisition of Florida, the Mis- souri Compromise, and the relations with Eu- I'ope in regard to Soutli American affairs, which resulted in the annuncialiun of the permanent policy of the Government known as the "Monroe Doctrine' (q.v. ). Noteworthy events of a spec- tacular character during his term were the tour of the President through the East and the West, and the visit of Lafayette. The jieriod of his ad- ministration was known as the 'era of good feel- ing.' on account of the general prosperity of the country and the absence of party strife. Vast in- ternal improvements were uiulertaken. and the westward movement of the ])o|iulation was marked. Five new States — Mississip]ii. Illinois. Alabama, Missouri, and Maine — were admitted to the Union. At the close of his second term Monroe re- tired to private life, residing in Virginia and in New York, where he died .July 4. 1831. During the year preceding his death he served as a mem- ber of the Virginia Constitutional Convention, this being his last public service. Monroe's Wrilinfis (New York, 1898 — ) have been edited by S. M. Hamilton, librarian of the Department of State in Washington. A calendar of his Correspondence was ])ublished in Bulleliii iVo. 2, 1893, of the Bureau of Rolls and Library. State Department. A biography of James ifon- roe was written for the "American Statesman Series," by D. C. Oilman (Boston, 1883: 'id ed. 1S98), in the appendix to which is a bibliography of Monroe and of the Monroe Doctrine. MONROE DOCTRINE. The term applied to the policy of the Uniti'd States regarding foreign interference in .Vmerican affairs. It takes its name from President Monroe, who in his message to Congress in 1823 lirst gave it formal announce- ment. It is sometimes stated as the corollary of Washington's policy of neutrality toward all European affairs. In moilern conception it is the policy of the United States to regard any attempt on the part of a European power to gain a foothold in this hemisphere by conquest, or to acquire any new establishment in North or South America as an act hostile to the United State*. Yet it does not contravene the right of any nation to enforce indenuiity for injuries to its subjects, physical or financial, but ap|)lies only to territorial aggression by foreign powers.